Cane River

Grand Central PubThe "New York Times" bestseller and Oprah's Book Club Pick--the unique and deeply moving epic of four generations of African-American women based on one family's ancestral past.

Baker & TaylorFollows four generations of African American women from slavery to the early twentieth century as they struggle for economic security and the future of their families along the Cane River in rural Louisiana.

Hachette Book GroupA New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club Pick-the unique and deeply moving saga of four generations of African-American women whose journey from slavery to freedom begins on a Creole plantation in Louisiana.

Beginning with her great-great-great-great grandmother, a slave owned by a Creole family, Lalita Tademy chronicles four generations of strong, determined black women as they battle injustice to unite their family and forge success on their own terms. They are women whose lives begin in slavery, who weather the Civil War, and who grapple with contradictions of emancipation, Jim Crow, and the pre-Civil Rights South. As she peels back layers of racial and cultural attitudes, Tademy paints a remarkable picture of rural Louisiana and the resilient spirit of one unforgettable family.

There is Elisabeth, who bears both a proud legacy and the yoke of bondage... her youngest daughter, Suzette, who is the first to discover the promise-and heartbreak-of freedom... Suzette's strong-willed daughter Philomene, who uses a determination born of tragedy to reunite her family and gain unheard-of economic independence... and Emily, Philomene's spirited daughter, who fights to secure her children's just due and preserve their dignity and future.

Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Cane River presents a slice of American history never before seen in such piercing and personal detail.

Baker & TaylorThrough exhaustive research, interviews, and the help of professional geneologists, successful corporate vice president Latilda Tademy takes readers on a fictional journey through her family's history, creating a vivid account of what life was like for the four remarkable African-American women before her. Reprint.

Community Activity

Comment

I love that the author was so passionate about this book that she quit her corporate job to track down her ancestry. She did an excellent job crafting an original story about three generations of women in her family based on her research. The characters were very believable with real struggles.

I recently visited the Cane River Creole National Park in Natchez, Louisiana, and was very interested to read this book. This is the story of several generations of Creole women from the same family, both slave and free, and was very well researched. Told in a fictionalized story that captured the beauty of the area and the harshness, and love of the lives lived by these women. I enjoyed all of the "extras" included in the book. These include numerous family trees, photographs and paintings of the characters.

I am so glad I read this book. The author gives a gorgeous retelling of her family history (based mostly in fact, with some edits for narrative flow) through the voices of four generations of women. She provides family trees throughout, which I looked back at many times and really enhanced the narrative. The novel is emotional and heartbreaking but also inspiring.